Austin Town Hall:

“Town Lake is an Austin band who got together back in 2017 after all members spent some time in well known Austin bands like The Calm Blue Sea, Go Nova, and Summer Fires. After some time spent playing live shows and recording tunes, the band released their promising new EP Demonstrations last April. For a taste of what the band has to offer, take a second and check out the bands new single “Homesick” stream”ing below. The band, at its core, has a blues inspired, southern sound with a lead singer in Gus Ochoa who sometimes sounds like Brandon Flowers when he could still sing. Zing! In the end, the band make a great rock n roll sound which is a welcome addition to what tends to be a non rockin’ scene in Austin.”

Seattle-born, Austin-based singer/songwriter Ruthie Craft is a blue soul with a bright yellow personality (and purple hair, to boot). She captures audiences with her soulful, emotive voice, honest and clever lyrics, and energetic onstage persona. Her vocal style has been compared to the likes of Adele, Aretha Franklin, and Amy Winehouse, with a songwriting style drawn from her greatest inspirations like Jason Mraz, Tori Kelly, and Dua Lipa.

In Fall of 2015, she was selected to perform with Keith Urban at the Washington State Fair in front of an audience of 10,000, and the experience brought her thousands of local fans. In July of 2018, Ruthie was selected as a contestant for Season 2 of American Idol on ABC. She competed on the show, and her episodes began airing in March of 2019, providing her with an entirely new group of national fans. 

As a writer, Ruthie seamlessly blends elements of Soul, Blues, and Pop; aiming to create impassioned, relatable music. She has released three singles: Outside (2018), and Heartbeat (2019), and Love Me Or Leave Me (2022) as well as multiple collaborative projects, including a cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (2020) with pianist Jason Lux and vocalist Craymer, garnering them over a million streams on Spotify.